Dems change rules; Senate in chaos

The Senate descended into procedural chaos Thursday night as Democrats forced a change in Senate rules and shut down a GOP effort to bog down a Chinese currency bill with a series of unrelated amendments.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s move to suddenly overhaul a key Senate rule without warning infuriated Republicans and put an already bitterly divided chamber on edge as senators from both sides of the aisle traded angry accusations over whether the fight would fundamentally limit the rights of the minority party.

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By a 51-48 vote, the Senate voted along party lines to change the precedent and limit how amendments can be considered once a filibuster is defeated. Under normal procedure, the Senate has 30 hours of debate after 60 senators agree to end a filibuster. Amendments can be considered during those 30 hours if each side agrees by unanimous consent to schedule a vote — or if a senator moves to waive the rules, which would then require the support of 67 senators in order to succeed.

But under the new procedure, senators can no longer move to waive the rules once a filibuster is defeated — a battle that threatens to further inflame partisan tensions and stymie legislative action at a time when frustration with Congress is at an all-time high.

While the rules change may not seriously affect the substance of pending legislation, the process employed by Democrats could be replicated in the future to overhaul bedrock rules like the filibuster. For that reason, both parties have tried to avoid employing such tactics to change the rules over the last several congressional sessions, including in a fierce 2005 battle that nearly limited the use of the filibuster.

In this case, Democrats made the change after the presiding officer, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), ruled against Reid’s point-of-order that “motions to suspend” were considered out of order after a filibuster is defeated. By a narrow majority, the Senate then voted that the decision by the presiding officer was incorrect, thus creating a new precedent in the body.

Democrats said the move was needed to limit dilatory tactics that essentially amounted to a “filibuster by amendment” even after the chamber votes to end debate on a bill.

Outraged Republicans, who serve in the minority, lashed out at Reid (D-Nev.), accusing Democrats of squeezing them out in a body designed to protect the rights of the minority. Republicans also warned that future Senate majorities would be more apt to change the chamber’s rules by a simple majority.

“We are fundamentally turning the Senate into the House,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), pacing on the floor, with his voice rising, referring to the other body’s rules that can limit floor debate.

“The rules of the Senate will be effectively changed to lock out the minority party even more.”

Democrats rejected the concerns, saying that efforts to waive the rules are similar to the stall tactics Republicans have employed time and again. A motion to suspend the rules has not succeeded since 1941, they noted, meaning that such efforts typically amount to political messaging more than anything else. And nothing would preclude them from offering amendments agreed to by both parties before or after a filibuster is defeated.

“If I were in the minority, I wouldn’t do this, I think it’s dilatory and wrong,” Reid said on the floor.

The frustration has been building for months, with Democrats accusing the GOP of slow-walking their agenda to hurt President Barack Obama and Republicans saying they can’t get their amendments considered because Democrats are concerned about taking tough votes.

“The Senate has been completely dysfunctional this year, and this is just one more step in that [direction],” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who earlier this year introduced a plan to overhaul Senate rules to ease partisan gridlock. “There is a great deal that has to be done to restore the functionality of the Senate.”